This petition is to strictly amend the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Health Services policy for head lice procedures with students and staff (Pediculosis Examination and Evaluation).

Currently, the policy does not permit school faculty to send a courtesy note to notify parents of live lice exposure in their child’s class unless there is proof of multiple children infested.

School district health services representatives have stated that they do not want notes sent to parents due to HIPAA patient confidentiality. They have also stated that an anonymous note sent to the parents of the students in the classroom could lead to bullying of any child suspected of having lice. Head lice is a public health concern, not a behavioral concern, and a courtesy note to parents is not in violation of any HIPAA policies.

Our goal with this petition is to require an anonymous courtesy note to parents when ANY child or staff in the same classroom has had live lice.

This petition will decrease the likelihood of student’s having and sharing live lice in the classroom by encouraging parents to be proactive in checking their children at home when lice is found. The results of this petition will be a safer learning environment for students and increased school attendance.

In order to show the school district the cumulative concern in this matter, we are trying to get at as many signatures as possible in support.